The rapid transformation we are now seeing in the healthcare sector brings a growing need for municipally provided health promoting and preventative activities, and, consequently, for research and education. Today, 3 June, KI will be signing collaboration agreements with Solna City and Upplands-Bro municipality, marking an important step towards reinforcing such strategic partnerships between the university and local government.
Much of the healthcare that was once provided by hospitals is now under the control of the municipalities, be it in the home, in elderly care homes or in special accommodation for people with disabilities.
This rerouting towards closer, more personal care also means that research and education must also be moved closer to people's daily environments.
"An ageing population and growing care needs place heavier demands on the skills and accessibility of the personnel," says Helena Åhman, director of social care at Solna City. "We therefore believe it imperative to invest in continual skills development to ensure that our personnel have the knowledge and abilities they need to deal with future care requirements," and this, she adds, can include continuing professional development, specialisations and opportunities for research and development in health and social care.
KI also recognises a need for developing its collaboration with municipal care.
"There is a growing need for municipal health-promoting, preventative, medical and nursing activities, and subsequently for research and education in partnership with the municipalities," says Maria Eriksdotter , KI's presidential advisor for collaboration with the healthcare sector.
The new agreements are based on mutual interests and mean that KI and the municipalities will identify common areas of development together.
Knowledge from both directions
For Upplands-Bro municipality, the partnership with KI is key to securing a supply of talent. As municipal director of social services Mitra Ghannad explains:
"It will enable us to develop while supporting the caregivers of tomorrow. By receiving students into our care activities, we enhance the quality of our services and create a learning environment in which theory meets practice in a meaningful way," she says.
In practice, the collaboration entails giving more students access to work-integrated learning areas like elderly care or student health, and making it easier for researchers to conduct clinical studies relating to municipal health and social care.
"This is a win-win situation that combines knowledge from both directions," says Professor Eriksdotter. "The municipalities gain access to extended pedagogical competence, the students gain practical insight into how things operate where people live and work, and more research expands our knowledge-base with the aim of improving our health."
There are already work-integrated education programmes in certain municipal activities in place, but Professor Eriksdotter believes that their scope and quality must increase.
Collaboration with four municipalities so far
The new agreements create a structure for long-term collaboration and also have the potential to facilitate contacts between researchers and municipal activities while allowing the municipalities to suggest areas they wish to have elucidated scientifically, explains Professor Eriksdotter.
The agreements with Solna City and Upplands-Bro municipality build upon earlier partnerships between KI and Stockholm City and Huddinge municipality. The next step is to extend the model to more municipalities where there is an interest and a need.
"KI is proud to sign agreements with Solna City and Upplands-Bro municipality today, and sees them as the first step towards deeper collaboration," says Professor Eriksdotter.
